ICE deployed to 14 international airports amid partial government shutdown

UPDATE: On March 27, House Republicans rejected a bipartisan Senate deal to end the government shutdown which is affecting the Department of Homeland Security and in turn, leaving the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) without pay. President Trump signed an order the same day to tap into a source of funds to pay TSA. White House Border Czar Tom Homan told CNN that ICE will remain at US airports until TSA operations are back to normal and “feel like they’re 100 percent.” As of April 5, there are no reports that ICE agents have left the 14 international airports.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents detained a woman in front of her daughter at the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) on March 22, amid deployment of ICE agents to several international airports across the U.S. While SFO is not currently one of the airports the Trump administration has sent agents to, this incident has caused anxiety in many throughout the greater Bay Area and Northern California. 

The partial shutdown is specifically affecting Transportation Security Administration (TSA) because they are overseen by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), leaving over 50,000 TSA agents working without pay according to reports from the New York Times. This has led to heightened staff shortages and delays. 

On March 26, Trump announced via Truth Social that he is going to sign an executive order instructing Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, to immediately pay TSA. Early the following morning on March 27, the Senate unanimously agreed to fund DHS as a means of ending airport delays.

ICE agents have been deployed to 14 international airports throughout the U.S. to mitigate long security lines as a result of the partial government shutdown.

James Menendez, a junior political science major, explained that ICE presence won’t affect his plans to travel.

“My plans have not changed, some middle aged men won’t scare me,” Menendez said. “Me and some other students are flying to SFO then to Newark for Model UN. Our layover is a few hours and I have no worries about any agents bothering us. And if they do, I’m not afraid to stand up [against] their terror tactics.”

El Leñador reached out to SFO Public Information Officer, Doug Yakel, to ask for comment on updates of potential ICE deployment to SFO and confirmation of any ICE presence at SFO following the incident on March 22. Yakel stated that matters involving ICE and DHS were out of their jurisdiction.   

“The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is a federal agency operating outside the jurisdiction of U.S. airports,” Yakel said. “As a result, we are not involved in any decisions about DHS operations, nor are we notified of such operations.”

A report by the New York Times revealed that SFO TSA “tipped off” ICE by notifying them of the mother and daughter’s detention order before their flight. 

DHS Acting Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, Lauren Bis, told El Leñador how TSA feels about deployment of ICE and if they feel ICE is qualified to perform the duties of TSA.

“TSA is extremely grateful to the patriotic men and women of ICE who have deployed to airports that are facing a high number of callouts because of the Democrats’ shutdown,” Bis said. “After receiving standard TSA training curriculum, ICE officers are guarding entrances and exits, assisting with logistics, doing crowd control and verifying identification using TSA equipment and standard operating procedures. The more support we have available, the more efficiently TSA can focus on their highly specialized screening roles to efficiently get airport security lines moving faster.”

Centro del Pueblo, a local organization that provides resources to Indigenous, immigrant and Latine communities, called for the immediate removal of ICE from airports in a post on Instagram on March 23.

“There have been reports of ICE agents present in some airports, in addition to TSA security personnel,” the caption reads. “This has generated concern, fear and harassment within our community, affecting our freedom to travel safely. We reject these practices and demand safe airports, free from intimidation and with respect for the rights of all people.”